Illustrative photo – Ukrainian soldier on the border with Belarus in a photo taken on February 1, 2023.
Minsk – A significant number of Ukrainian soldiers are concentrated near the Belarusian border with Ukraine, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense said today. At the same time, the resort claims that this represents a security threat. This was reported by the Reuters agency, which noted that it was unable to verify Minsk's claims about the situation at the border. Minsk is intensifying its aggressive and militaristic rhetoric ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Mykhailo Podoljak, an adviser to the head of Ukraine's presidential office, said in response. However, according to him, Kyiv does not see an immediate threat from Belarus.
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Photo gallery: Russian invasion of Ukraine
“We do not see any logistical action in Belarus aimed at creating a strike force. Nor do we see the accumulation of equipment needed for a ground offensive,” Podoljak told Reuters. “Minsk unwaveringly supports Russia in terms of information. However, we have the northern direction (to Belarus) under special control,” the presidential adviser added.
Belarus's authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, has repeatedly stated that his army will engage in fighting only if Belarus is attacked. He expressed himself similarly in mid-February, when he said: “I am ready to fight together with the Russians from the territory of Belarus only in one case: if a single soldier comes from there (Ukraine) to kill my people,” Lukashenko told reporters.
< p>“Currently, a significant grouping of the Ukrainian army is concentrated in the immediate vicinity of the Belarusian-Ukrainian section of the state border,” the Belarusian Ministry of Defense said in a telegram post today. “The probability of armed provocations, which may develop into border incidents, is long-term high,” it added. According to the Russian Interfax agency, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense also announced that it had moved “to measures of adequate response” to what it described as provocations. He mentions “reconnaissance activities”, which he says regularly violate borders in airspace.
On Monday, according to Reuters, Lukashenko announced that he had ordered the creation of a new volunteer territorial defense. According to Defense Minister Viktar Chrenin, it should number 100,000 to 150,000 volunteers, or even more. “The situation is not simple. I have said more than once: every man – and not only men – should at least be able to handle weapons,” Lukashenko declared at a meeting of the Security Council. According to Belarusian officials, the paramilitary formation is to be in every village and town.
According to the 2022 balance sheet of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the professional Belarusian army has approximately 48,000 soldiers and approximately 12,000 border guards.
